XM, Samsung and Napster Form Music Trifecta

New MP3 players will record and play satellite radio content, which can also be purchased from a new music download service.

0shares

XM Satellite Radio wins the title of "It" technology of the week, announcing collaborations with Samsung for a new satellite-radio-ready MP3 player and with Napster to create an online music download service.

"These partnerships will expand the reach of XM beyond the traditional satellite radio platform and open up a new way for music fans to easily and effortlessly access all the music they want any time," XM spokesperson Chase Patterson said.

"We believe it will become a breakthrough for the portable audio market, in that today people who are interested in using MP3 players have to do quite a bit of work to learn about and purchase new music," he added.

This upcoming holiday season, Samsung will roll out two flash memory music players that will come with a home kit that enables them to play and record content from XM satellite programs.

"Imagine having your MP3 player be capable of accessing hundreds of thousands of XM songs, and be able to record them and manage your playlists, and then integrate that with the MP3 songs you already have on your computer," Patterson said.

Patterson said that the players will not be able to capture satellite radio while walking around town. Instead, when the players are connected to an XM docking station, users will be able to record or "store" XM programs with the push of a button. Once stored, the music or other recorded XM radio can be played anywherewhether satellite radio signals are present or not.

The players will come with a choice of two storage capacities and will be able to store and play downloaded and ripped MP3 and .WMA files. Samsung's staying mum on the exact hard drive sizes, but Patterson said the larger player will be able to store 50 hours of XM content and the smaller, 25 hours.

In the meantime, Napster and XM have been working together to create an online service that allows XM subscribers to buy music that plays on XM radio. The two companies plan to launch the "XM + Napster" service, which will work in conjunction with the Samsung player.

"Let's say you're in the car or at home listening to XM Radio if there's anything that you want to hear later, you can press a button [on the Samsung MP3 player] and you'll be able to 'mark' those songs," Patterson explained. "Then when you get to the computer, it'll call up those saved songs."

The user will then be able to keep the recorded versions of the songs, playable only on the MP3 player. If the user wants to export the recorded songs, he or she will need to buy them.

"That's where the XM + Napster service comes in," Patterson said.

The service will offer an automated "bring the music to you" process. When the MP3 player is connected to a computer, the service will compare the marked XM titles with Napster's song catalog, and then give the customer the option to buy those particular songs.

The XM + Napster program will also function like an iTunes or Musicmatch, allowing subscribers to organize playlists of songs from personal music libraries and transfer them to XM players. Users without MP3 players can use the service as well, tagging songs for purchase through the Web-based XM Radio Online service.

//Related Articles

If Napster doesn't have a particular song that was marked or recorded from XM, users will not be able to purchase the song. However, Patterson said that if users place a request for certain song or album, XM will work with Napster to make it available.

Other portable players pick up XM Satellite Radio, including the Delphi XM MyFi and the Tao TXM1020, which can record programs much like an old-school tape recorder. The record control is completely manual, the players do not support playlists, and in order to delete a song users have to delete every song in the memory. Most of these players are priced at about $299.

Prices and other details on the new Samsung players will be released at a later date.

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service

//our current issue

Select Term:

24 issues for $29.99 ONLY $1.25 an issue! Lock in Your Savings!

12 issues for $19.99ONLY $1.67 an issue!

State

Country

This transaction is secure

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service